Wankhede’s Defamation Claim: Red Chillies Entertainment, Shah Rukh Khan’s production company, has informed the Delhi High Court that Sameer Wankhede’s defamation lawsuit against the Netflix series “Ba**ds of Bollywood” is unfounded because his reputation had already suffered long before the show’s premiere.

The series, which was produced, co-written, and directed by Aryan Khan, is a situational satire on Bollywood, not a personal attack, according to Red Chillies’ thorough 35-page response. The studio contended that Wankhede’s complaint is the result of “hypersensitivity,” not actual defamation, and that the characters are exaggerated for comedy, reflecting “societal and situational absurdities.”

In reference to the increased scrutiny and criticism Wankhede received following the 2021 cruise ship raid in which Aryan Khan was detained and ultimately found not guilty, the reply stated, “Even before the release of Ba**ds of Bollywood, the plaintiff was already the subject of public ridicule and adverse commentary.”

According to the corporation, removing the scenes that Wankhede objects to would “break the narrative” and jeopardize the series’ integrity because the show’s creative freedom is guaranteed by the law, which also covers satire and parody. Red Chillies said that the show’s police officer character, who Wankhede says looks like him, is unnamed and just depicted as “overzealous,” not malevolent or disparaging.

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Senior counsel J Sai Deepak was Wankhede’s attorney when he petitioned the court to have the episode that “maligns his reputation” taken down. He said in his October 19 reply that the series made him the target of new public mockery and that the producers were operating with “malice, revenge, and commercial greed.”

According to the sources, the court has told Red Chillies, Netflix, and Wankhede to submit their written arguments. Justice Purushindra Kumar Kaurav handles the case, and the next hearing of this case is on November 10th. Senior advocates Neeraj Kishan Kaul and Shyel Trehan are representing on behalf of Red Chillies Entertainment. On behalf of Netflix, Rajiv Nayyar has made an appearance in the court. Red Chillies’ stance is quite clear: satire is not defamation, and fiction cannot further damage a reputation already damaged by public discourse.

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